China Feature | African Immigrants

China’s Disappearing “Little Africa”

China’s increased economic ties with sub-Saharan Africa countries have opened up new immigration channels, with a flurry of “Chinatowns” and “Little Africas” popping up in destination countries. But as urban “beautification” campaigns expand in China’s cities, African immigrants have found their economic and social spaces under threat. Guangzhou, home to what is estimated to be China’s largest population of black African immigrants, has seen its vibrant African market dampened as urban development, an economic downturn, increased policing, tightening immigration policies, and social stigma have driven many enterprising immigrants out of public areas. CNN takes a look at the shifting prospects for African immigrants in China.

Outlas Outreach

The Ongoing Insecurity of LGBT Ghanaians

A relatively stable constitutional democracy, Ghana has seen the beginnings of official outreach to its LGBT citizens in recent years as it has signed on to pro-LGBT international accords and treaties, but new research from Human Rights Watch (HRW) reveals ongoing persecution and gender-based vulnerabilities. Though rarely enforced, a law criminalizing same-sex relations that emerged from the country’s colonial legacy has led to the political and corporal endangerment of LGBT Ghanaians, exposing them to intimidation, violence, fears of public exposure, and little to no recourse to law enforcement protection. Lesbians, bisexual women, and trans men have faced especially high levels of violence and labor precarity, and anti–domestic violence laws have done little to protect them given the lack of trust in the legal system. In response, HRW conducted interviews with LGBT Ghanaians to track insecurity across a range of social, legal, and economic domains and issued a set of recommendations to improve protections for the community.